Politics

Liz Truss tops list of prime ministers who left Britain worse off

Liz Truss officially left Britain worse off than any other prime minister in modern British history, according to a new poll.

The former PM, who resigned after just a month and a half with the country in economic meltdown, was overwhelmingly voted into the top spot by the public.

An Ipsos survey for the Standard found that 72 per cent of people held a critical view about her administration compared to just five per cent who thought she improved things.

Her predecessors Boris Johnson, Theresa May and David Cameron were also viewed in an unfavourable light overall.

Indeed, you’d have to go back to John Major to find a former Tory prime minister in positive territory, with 26 per cent saying he left the country in a good state compared to 19 per cent who say the opposite.

Margaret Thatcher also scored well, with 46 per cent saying she changed Britain for the better and 37 per cent for the worse.

She is followed by Sir Tony Blair on 42 per cent to 36 per cent respectively, despite the Iraq War.

Gideon Skinner, of Ipsos UK, said: “Rishi Sunak’s two predecessors continue to cast a shadow with most Britons judging them to have changed the country for the worse over their tenure — especially Liz Truss, who is the only premier for whom a majority of their own supporters are also critical.

“But it’s also notable that none of the Prime Ministers who have been in power since the financial crash, from Gordon Brown onwards, receive a net positive rating.”

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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